Posted on 05/12/2015 4:21:27 PM PDT by RnMomof7
Let us begin with a church history exam question. Cardinal Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621) was a figure not to be taken lightly. He was Pope Clement VIII’s personal theologian and one of the most able figures in the Counter-Reformation movement within sixteenth-century Roman Catholicism. On one occasion, he wrote: “The greatest of all Protestant heresies is _______ .” Complete, explain, and discuss Bellarmine’s statement.
How would you answer? What is the greatest of all Protestant heresies? Perhaps justification by faith? Perhaps Scripture alone, or one of the other Reformation watchwords?
Those answers make logical sense. But none of them completes Bellarmine’s sentence. What he wrote was: “The greatest of all Protestant heresies is assurance.”
A moment’s reflection explains why. If justification is not by faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone — if faith needs to be completed by works; if Christ’s work is somehow repeated; if grace is not free and sovereign, then something always needs to be done, to be “added” for final justification to be ours. That is exactly the problem. If final justification is dependent on something we have to complete it is not possible to enjoy assurance of salvation. For then, theologically, final justification is contingent and uncertain, and it is impossible for anyone (apart from special revelation, Rome conceded) to be sure of salvation. But if Christ has done everything, if justification is by grace, without contributory works; it is received by faith’s empty hands — then assurance, even “full assurance” is possible for every believer.
No wonder Bellarmine thought full, free, unfettered grace was dangerous! No wonder the Reformers loved the letter to the Hebrews!
This is why, as the author of Hebrews pauses for breath at the climax of his exposition of Christ’s work (Heb. 10:18), he continues his argument with a Paul-like “therefore” (Heb. 10:19). He then urges us to “draw near … in full assurance of faith” (Heb. 10:22). We do not need to re-read the whole letter to see the logical power of his “therefore.” Christ is our High Priest; our hearts have been sprinkled clean from an evil conscience just as our bodies have been washed with pure water (v.22).
Christ has once-for-all become the sacrifice for our sins, and has been raised and vindicated in the power of an indestructible life as our representative priest. By faith in Him, we are as righteous before the throne of God as He is righteous. For we are justified in His righteousness, His justification alone is ours! And we can no more lose this justification than He can fall from heaven. Thus our justification does not need to be completed any more than does Christ’s!
With this in view, the author says, “by one offering He has perfected for all time those who come to God by him” (Heb. 10:14). The reason we can stand before God in full assurance is because we now experience our “hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and … bodies washed with pure water” (Heb. 10:22).
“Ah,” retorted Cardinal Bellarmine’s Rome, “teach this and those who believe it will live in license and antinomianism.” But listen instead to the logic of Hebrews. Enjoying this assurance leads to four things: First, an unwavering faithfulness to our confession of faith in Jesus Christ alone as our hope (v.23); second, a careful consideration of how we can encourage each other to “love and good works” (v.24); third, an ongoing communion with other Christians in worship and every aspect of our fellowship (v.25a); fourth, a life in which we exhort one another to keep looking to Christ and to be faithful to him, as the time of his return draws ever nearer (25b).
It is the good tree that produces good fruit, not the other way round. We are not saved by works; we are saved for works. In fact we are God’s workmanship at work (Eph. 2:9–10)! Thus, rather than lead to a life of moral and spiritual indifference, the once-for-all work of Jesus Christ and the full-assurance faith it produces, provides believers with the most powerful impetus to live for God’s glory and pleasure. Furthermore, this full assurance is rooted in the fact that God Himself has done all this for us. He has revealed His heart to us in Christ. The Father does not require the death of Christ to persuade Him to love us. Christ died because the Father loves us (John 3:16). He does not lurk behind His Son with sinister intent wishing He could do us ill — were it not for the sacrifice his Son had made! No, a thousand times no! — the Father Himself loves us in the love of the Son and the love of the Spirit.
Those who enjoy such assurance do not go to the saints or to Mary. Those who look only to Jesus need look nowhere else. In Him we enjoy full assurance of salvation. The greatest of all heresies? If heresy, let me enjoy this most blessed of “heresies”! For it is God’s own truth and grace!
ping
The Greatest of All Protestant Heresies = The United States
After all...wasn’t it dogma that we couldn’t rule ourselves?
I suspect this thread will not be pretty...
Some “Christians” aren’t smart enough to know better than to behave like sunnis and shias.
We can always cleanse ourselves with Holy Water when it's all over.
An Example in a Recent Edition of This Rock Magazine
Early Church Evidence Refutes Real Presence
The Lord's Supper: solemn symbolism or corporeal flesh and blood?
The Conversion of a Catholic Priest
A Refresher on “Apostolic Succession"
Explaining the Heresy of Catholicism Grace vs> works
The Nature of Justifying Faith
Why These 66 Books?
Is There A Purgatory?
Should Christians Confess Sins to An Earthly Priest?
Salvation by Faith or Works?
How good do I have to be to go to heaven?
The religion of works-righteousness
Against Rome's Apostolic Succession Argument by Bullinger (Part 1)
The Late Development of the Bishop of Rome
How the fictional early papacy became real
Papacy built on pious fiction and forgery 2
Papacy built on pious fiction and forgery, part 1
The Doctrine of Sola Scriptura:Is It Really Biblical?
Rome's New and Novel Concept of Tradition
Is The Roman Catholic View of the Eucharist Supported by the Historical Evidence?
Is the Mass the Real Sacrifice of Christ?
Pagan Saints
Upon This Rock
How Christians Will Know They Can Join Hands With Rome
Historically that took two forms, the Arminian form in which one was always assured of being able to enter into salvation, and the Calvinist form in which if one was lucky enough to be elect, one was assured of keeping salvation.
Frankly, evangelicals advanced in the faith don’t argue about this much. They don’t intend to ditch their salvations and they have seen evidence that shows their salvations are present. If anything sometimes salvation seems to be a “nuisance” — they ‘d like to do something worldly that would be very enjoyable for the moment, but they know Christ not only says “no” but is committed to drag them through earthly purgatory, as it were, to make sure that “no” sticks to their soul.
It’s out of this world. (And yet in it, too.)
Do you want to be shown, you shallow man, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, and the scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God.” (James 2:20-23).
Interesting that you compare "Christians" (and I will post your quotation marks around that term!) to muzzles.
Christians (without quote marks) are told to rely on Scripture and trust in the completed work of Christ. Hence, those that follow Him are called after His name. This thread show some of the most egregious errors found within personality-based cults.
But, there are some extremely large cults that with to discredit the Word of God displayed in Scripture by requiring persons to do something to earn their salvation.
If one doesn't see that, maybe they aren't Christian, but just another "cultist"!
Nice try to slam Christians with self-righteousness, but no banana!
I know! Such interesting, informative articles. Appreciate you keeping a list for other posters who may have missed some.
I think that complaint is on a different level. Or, why can’t we just agree on Jesus Christ.
The problem begins when the works are wrought not by God (as the scripture clearly says) but by fallen fear of the opinions of men (as a lot of “Churchianity” seems to shape up, and it is found across many denominations).
Before this thread devolves into the usual debauchery and for the record: Bellarmine was speaking against the popular notion (at the time not so much today) of OSAS or “once saved, always saved” or as Calvin described “the perseverance of the saints”.
Of course all Christians can have “assurance” of salvation as Hebrews describes, and the Church not on,y doesn’t have any problem with that but also teaches it! Yes, we are taught that we can and do have *assurance* of Salvation! IF one remains faithful to Jesus and His commands. It’s just that simple and I know that many “Protestants” then and especially today agree with this.
So quit trying to drive a wedge between the Catholic Church and all other Christians. If you’d take the time to look, you’d find we agree on a lot more than we disagree. And we don’t cut people’s heads off for disagreeing, unlike another religion I can think of, who is the enemy of ALL Christians!
Christians bashing each other serves someone but it ain’t God.
Good luck.
I keep thinking about the Inquisition ... and the Protestant Reformation ....
All that Truth, all the time... hurts a cultist, doesn't it? After a lifelong indoctrination into such falsity garmented in finery and bejeweling their beloved corpses, they are confronted with what Scripture actually tells us, and are then forced to deny their indoctrination or admit their error.
That list is far from complete, but it's a good start to revealing all the error and falsity of the Roman Catholic cult!
Thanks, Mom!
BTTT!
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